Apparatus for backing up electrotype-shells.



G. E. DUNTON. APPARATUS FOR BACKING UP ELECTROTYPE SHELLS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 2. 1914.

1,125,672. Patented Jan. 19, 1,915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1. w i

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THE NORRIS PETERS 120.. PHoTO-LITHQ, WASHINGTON, D. C.

G.E.-DUNTO'N. APPARATUS FOR BACKING UP ELEGTROTYPB SHELLS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 2 1914. v

Patented Jan. 19, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

THE NORRIS PETERS co PHOTO-LITHCL, WASHING TON. D c.

G. E. DUNTON. APPARATUS FOR BACKING UP ELEOTROTYPE SHELLS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 2, 1914. v Patented Jan 19, 1915.

4-SHEETS-SHEET 3.

\H N gm G. E. DUNTON.

APPARATUS FOR BACKING UP ELEGTROTYPE SHELLS. APPLICATION FILED JAN.2, 1914.

1,125,672, 1 .Patented Jan. 19,1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

GEORGE E. DUNTON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

APPARATUS FOR BACKING UP ELECTROTYPE-SHELLS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 19, 1915.

Application filed January 2, 1914. Serial No. 810,022.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE E. DUNTON, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, a citizen of the United States, have invented a certain new and useful Apparatus for Backing Up Electrotype-Shells; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in apparatus for backing up electrotype shells for use in forming electrotype plates.

Ever since the conception of the possibility of producing printing plates by the electrotyping process the method of backing up the shells has been the same, namely, the dipping of the melted backing metal, a composition consisting of a combination of lead, tin and antimony, out of the melting pot or kettle with a hand ladle and pouring said melted backing metal over the prepared back of the electrotype shell from this ladle. To the best of my knowledge and belief no attempt has ever been made to supersede this old and time honored custom which produced very unsatisfactory results and was very severe on the operator doing the work because it meant that the operator must stand close to the side or in front of the heated furnace carrying the melting pot or kettle and dip out the melted metal backing with a hand ladle and pour it over the prepared shell contained in the backing pan placed on a stand directly beside the furnace.

The above operation is mechanically unsatisfactory in that the results obtained are not always uniform or equal, and sometimes when the operator becomes careless, tired or overheated he will throw the melted metal down on the upturned back surface of the shell, which will result in spots directly beneath the splash becoming overheated, compared with the balance of the surface area of the shell, and the unequal contraction resulting from the cooling of the mass results in shrinkages in the backed-up plate which must be pounded out in the subsequent straightening of the surface of the plate detracts from the printing qualities of the finished printing plate.

My invention therefore has for its object to dispense with the old manner of backing up an electrotype shell, which consisted in It further has for its object to provide means for controlling the flow of the molten metal through the pipe or duct or other means which forms the communication between the melting pot or kettle and the backing pan.

It further has for its object to provide means for transferring the molten metal backing from the melting pot or kettle to the back of the electrotype shell in the backing pan, in such a manner that the molten metal backing will be evenly and uniformly distributed over the entire surface of the back of the shell.

It further has for its object to provide means for melting the solder, or other binder placed on the electrotype shell before applying the molten metal backing, means for transferring the molten metal backing from the melting pot or kettle to the back of the shell in the backing pan and means for cooling the shell and backing.

It still further has for its object to provide means for controlling the flow of molten metal backing from the melting pot or kettle to the backing pan and means for compensating for any excessive amount or overflow of the molten metal backing in said controlling means.

Referring to the drawings: Figure 1 is a side view in elevation. Fig. 2 a top plan View. Figs. 3 and 4 detail top plan and side elevations of the communicating pipe or duct, controlling valve and nozzle. Fig. 5 a detail vertical sectional view, partly in elevation, of the parts shown in Fig. 3. Fig. 6 a bottom plan view of the nozzle. Fig. 7 a horizontal sectional view of the valve taken on the line 00-52 of Fig. 4. Fig. 8 a similar View to Fig. 7 taken on the line 3 of Fig. 4. Fig. 9 a top plan view of the safety valve or plate.

In the drawings in which similar reference characters denote similar parts throughout the several views, 1 represents the furnace, used to melt the metal backing for the electrotype shell, 2 the melting pot or kettle in which the metal to form the backing for the shell is placed and melted, 3 the backing pan stand having a pair of side bars 4, on each side, a series of rollers 5 mounted between the side bars, on each side, and 7 being lugs or pins projecting upwardly from the outer ends of the side bars 4 and serving as stops to prevent the backing pans being pushed off the end of the backing stand.

Backing pans 8 and 9 are provided, each having bails or handles 10, the backing pan 8 being shown as resting on leveling screws 11 by which it is adjusted to a perfectly level position. The backing pan 9 is shown as resting on the rollers 5 ready tobe moved over the Bunsen burner 12 for the purpose of melting the solder binder to the back of, "the electrotype shell before applying the molten metal backing. After the molten metal backing is supplied to the backing pans, and they are resting on the leveling screws, it is cooled by means of cool air supplied to the underside of the backing pans by means of a pipe 13, which is connected to a blower 14, or other similar device, and 15 is a gate or valve controlling the feed of the cold air. The backing pans are lifted in and out of the melting pot or kettle, preferably, by means of a block and fall 16, having a chain 17 and hook 18, and mounted on a carriage 19 which is provided with wheels 20 designed to travel on a beam 21.

The molten metal backing is transferred 7 from the melting pot or kettle to the backing pans by means of an angular pipe or duct 22 made in two sections 23 and 24 joined or connected by means of an elbow 25. The outer end of the section 24 is provided with a downwardly extending nozzle or spreader 26 for the purpose of modifying or breaking the force of the discharge of the molten metal hacking into the backing pans. The inner end of the section 24, mounted in the melting pot or kettle, is connected to a valve 27 which controls the discharge of the molten metal backing from the melting pot or kettle through the angle pipe and nozzle to the backing pans. The valve comprises a casing 28 having a central bore 29, ears or lugs 30 by which it is secured in a hole 31 in the bottom of the melting pot or kettle by screw bolts 32, a boss 33 having a hole 33 therethrough with whichthe section 24 connects and communicates, a beveled valve seat 34, a downwardly beveled bottom 35, and a valve plug 36 having radially disposed horizontal inlet ports 37 which communicate with vertical ports 38, extending from end to end of the valve plug, said valve plug having a head 39 with a beveled under surface designed to seat on the valve seat 34.

A vertical hole 40 is provided in the head 39 of the valve plug in which a screw threaded stem 41 is mounted having perforated cars 42 at its upper end, spiral spring 43, a sleeve 44 and a safety valve or plate 45 loosely mounted on the stem 41 for the purpose of allowing the escape or return of the excess molten metal backing remaining in the valve to the melting pot or kettle, when the plug is moved downward and contacts with the beveled bottom 35. As the valve plug is moveddownward the pressure of the excess metal remaining in the valve plug will cause the safety overflow valve or plate to uncover the vertical ports 38, but just as soon as this pressure is released the spiral spring will cause the said valve to close.

The valve plug is operated by means of a hand lever 46 pivotally mounted on a bracket 47 on' the top of the furnace, the inner end of said hand lever being pivoted to the ears on the upper end of the stem 41, and 48 is a locking device, pivoted to the hand lever, which, when in use, contacts or impinges against the base 49- of the bracket 47 and thereby locks the valve plug in its closed position.

In using my apparatus I close the controlling valve 27 by moving the valve plug 36 downward, by means of the hand lever 46, until it contacts and is tightly seated on the valve seat 34 of the valve casing, the backing metal is then placed in the melting pot or kettle. I then make a fire in the furnace and after seeing that the inner surfaces of the backing pans are clean and smooth and the leveling screws are adjusted to their proper positions and locked, produce an electrotype shell in the usual manner by the deposition of metal electrolytically upon the surface of a mold made in wax and duly prepared with reference to having its surface made conductive and having deposited a shell, to the desired thickness, upon the surface of the wax mold the shell is carefully removed by pouring boiling water over its surface, with the mold resting in an inclined position in a suitable receptacle, the water being poured from one corner of the mold carefully along the top of the shell, gradually downward, until the heat of the water is transmitted throughout the metal of the shell, which causes the wax of the mold to melt, thus releasing the metal shell, when the shell be drawn away from the wax mold and the mold removed to a suitable place where the wax is stripped from the pan and remelted for future use. shell is then thoroughly rinsed in a boiling solution of caustic soda or potash lye to remove the adherent wax, then thoroughly rinsed in hot water to remove all the lye and'then plunged into a pickle of dilute sulfuric acid (in water) whereit is allowed to remain until ready for backing. I then The by the following reaction,

HCl-l-Zn ZnCl-l-H and as soon as the ebullition has practically subsided take one part of this clear solution of chlorid of zinc and add to it three parts of water to which has been added a few drops of ammonia water to prevent the zinc chlorid deliquescing and depositing in slaggy patches on the back of the shell, when heat is applied for melting the binder of solder foil to the back of the shell. With this solution prepared I thoroughly rinse the shell in running water, to remove all traces of acid pickle, and flow the back, or bright side of the shell, with this ammoniated solution of zinc chlorid which acts as a in joining the solder foil binder to the metallic shell, then drain off all the chlorid solution by holding the shell in a perpendicular position over the receptacle containing the solution, lay the shell flat upon its face and cover its exposed back with thin sheets of solder foil. The backing pan having been previously heated by being floated upon the surface of the molten backing metal in the metal pot or kettle of the furnace or by heating the backing pan over a Bunsen or other burner, the shell is carefully laid upon the surface of the backing pan and the solder foil allowed to melt over the back of the shell until it covers the entire surface of the same and enters all the indentures and interstices in the back of the shell, I then remove the backing pan, containing the shell, by lifting the pan by a block and fall, or other suitable means, from the melting pot or kettle and swing the pan over and deposit it upon the tops of the leveling screws on the backing stand directly under the nozzle or spreader of the pipe or duct leading from the melting pot or kettle, then with everything in readiness I carefully raise the hand lever and allow the molten metal backing to flow from the melting pot or kettle, through the valve, angle pipe and nozzle or spreader onto the edge of the backing pan in a small stream and when suflicient molten metal has been supplied to the backing pan to cover the shell the valve is closed by pressing down on the hand lever, then with long thin sticks held in both hands the edges of the metal covered shell are carefully rubbed down until there is no space showing between the edges thereof and the pan, which is termed sealing the shell to the backing pan, then I again lift the valve by raising the hand lever, opening the pipe or duct to its full capacity, and allow the molten metal to again flow from the melting pot or kettle, through the valve, angle pipe or duct and out of the nozzle or spreader into the backing pan until the molten metal has attained the required level in the backing pan and covered the shell to the desired depth, by which the thickness of the plate is determined, the valve is again closed by pressing down upon the hand lever until the valve plug is seated upon its seat and thesupply of molten backing metal is shut off. The gate in the air pipe is then opened and a blast of cool air is allowed to act on the bottom of the backing pan until such time as the metal backing becomes set or sufliciently rigid or hard to allow the backing pan to be lifted and placed upon the rollers when it is pushed away from the furnace and allowed to stand until it is sufficiently cooled to allow the removal of the plate from the pan. The plate is th a removed to the cleaners bench where it is Washed in kerosene oil, or some other detergent, and in heated lye, rinsed in water and dried in sawdust when it is taken to the circular saw table where it is cut up and goes through the customary operations of finishing co1nmon to the electrotyping art. in the meantime the backing pan has been washed in a weak solution of lye, dried and carefully brushed off when it is ready to have the entire operation repeated.

T he backing pan is preferably situated in a lower horizontal plane than the melting pot or kettle for the purpose of allowing the molten metal backing to flow from the melting pot or kettle into the backing pan by l gravity.

1 do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact details of construction and arrangement as herein described and illustrated, as it is manifest that variations and modifications may be made in the fea tures of construction and arrangement in the adaptation of the device to the various conditions of use without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention and improvements. I therefore reserve the right to all such variations and modifications as properly fall within the scope of my invention and the terms of the following claims.

What I claim is 1. In an apparatus for backing up electrotype shells, a melting pot for melting the backing metal, a backing pan, a pipe or duct communicating with said melting pot and backing pan, a valve connected with said pipe or duct and melting pot provided with a casing having a plug with ports, spring controlled means for normally closing said ports and means for operating said plug whereby the molten metal in said ports is caused to open the same, substantially as described.

2. In an apparatus for backing up electrotype shells, a melting pot for melting the backing metal, a backing pan,a pipe or duct forming a communication between said meltpot and backing pan, a valve connected with said pipe or duct and melting pot provided with a casing having a plug with horizontal and vertical ports, a valve or plate resiliently mounted on the top of said plug which normally closes said vertical ports but which is adapted to be moved upward and uncover said ports, when the plug moved downward, by the pressure of the excess metal in said vertical ports of said plug, substantially as described.

3. In an a paratus for backing up elec- L ells, a melting pot for melting the backing meta a backing pan, a pipe or duct forming a communication between said melting pot and backing pan, a nozzle on the outer end of said pipe or duct having an elongated unrestricted discharge opening for delivering molten metal to the backing pan, substantially as described.

In an apparatus for backing up e1ectrotype shells, melting pot for melting the backing metal, a backing pan, a pipe or duct lcrmin a communication between saidmelting pot and backing pan and furnishing a communication between them, means connected to the end of said pipe or duct for spreading the molten metal backing into a broad sheet as it is discharged from said pipe or duct in its delivery to the backing pan, substantially as described.

In an apparatus for backing up elecrotype shells, a melting pot for melting the backing metal, a backing pan, a pipe or duct forming a communication between said melt ing pot and backing pan, a valve having a casing connected with said pipe or duct and melting pot provided with a plug having horizontal ports opened and closed by the vertical movement of said plug, vertical ports with which said horizontal ports communicate, means for automatically controlling the opening of said vertical ports and means for operating said plug, whereby the molten metal in said vertical ports is caused to open the same, substantially as described.

6. In an apparatus for backing up electrotype shells, melting pot for melting the backing metal, a backing pan, a pipe or duct forming a communication between said melting pot and backing pan, a valve having a casing connected with said pipe or duct and the melting pot, a plug provided with a series of horizontal ports opened and closed by the vertical movement of said plug, a series of vertical ports communicating with the horizontal. ports and resiliently mounted means on the LOP of said plug for opening and closing said vertical ports, substantially as described. 7

T. In an apparatus for backing up electrotype shells, a melting pot for melting the backing metal, a backing pan, a pipe or duct forming a communication between the melting pot and backing pan, a valve mounted in the melting pot provided with a casing connected to said pipe or duct, a plug within said casing having communicating horizontal and vertical ports, by which the molten metal backing enters said plug, means for controlling the inlet of said molten metal backing and means for allowing the excess molten metal to be forced out of said plug, substantially as described.

8. In an apparatus for backing up electrotype shells, a melting pot for melting the backing metal, a backing pan, a pipe or duct for forming a communication between the meltingpot and the backing pan, a nozzle connected to said pipe or duct, a valve mounted in the melting pot provided with a casing connected to said pipe or duct, a plug within said casing having horizontal ports and vertical ports extending from end to end of said plug and communicating with said horizontal ports, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE E. DUNTON.

Witnesses HERMAN VocEL, WILLIAM RUSSELL. 7

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

